Blood, sandals on street as bomb kills two, wounds 22 in Thai capital

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A bomb killed two people and wounded at least 22 in a busy shopping district of the Thai capital on Sunday, hours after supporters of Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra promised to get tough with demonstrators paralyzing parts of the city.

But it was not immediately clear who was responsible.

The bomb exploded near one of the few large protest sites remaining, leaving a trail of blood and sandals on the streets of the popular Rachaprasong shopping area, much of it in front of a store selling tee-shirts emblazoned "Land of Smile".

Three children suffered serious head injuries, Erawan Medical Center, which monitors hospitals, said. One died.

"One boy who we understand was 12 years old has died from injuries sustained in the blast. Another child is undergoing an operation and a third child is still in the emergency room with us," a nurse at Ramathibodi Hospital in central Bangkok, who declined to be identified, told Reuters.

Erawan said a 40-year-old woman was also killed.

In a statement on Facebook, Yingluck, who has not been seen in public for days, branded the violence terrorism.

"I strongly condemn the use of violence in recent days ... since the lives of children were lost," she said. "The violent incidents are terrorist acts for political gains without regard for human life."
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